🎮 Xbox Shakeup, Subtitle Glasses, China’s Crypto Push

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🎮 Xbox Shakeup, Subtitle Glasses, China’s Crypto Push

Plus: Chatbots in Science Papers? Meta’s AI Gets Chatty.

Jose Montes de Oca

Jul 03, 2025

Transcript

Good morning. It’s Thursday, Jul 3. Today we are covering:

Microsoft Makes Deep Job Cuts Across Xbox Division, Cancels Games
These Transcribing Eyeglasses Put Subtitles on the World
China's tech giants lobby for offshore yuan stablecoin, sources say
291 Hints That a Chatbot Wrote Part of a Biomedical Researcher's Paper
Meta is reportedly training its AI chatbots to send unprompted messages

Let’s dive in

Microsoft Makes Deep Job Cuts Across Xbox Division, Cancels Games

By Jason Schreier via Bloomberg

Microsoft has laid off hundreds of employees across its Xbox division as part of a broader cost-cutting initiative.
The cuts include the cancellation of several in-development titles, notably Perfect Dark and Everwild.
A spokesperson declined to specify exact numbers, but confirmed the layoffs were widespread and significant.

𝕏: I still laugh at the fact that some people really wanted this bum ass company to aquire SEGA when they still can't even handle their own studios first. - Nathan (@NSuperGamerGuy)

These Transcribing Eyeglasses Put Subtitles on the World

By Boone Ashworth via WIRED

TranscribeGlass, developed by Yale senior Madhav Lavakare, are lightweight smart glasses that display real-time subtitles of conversations for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing, using a companion iOS app and a waveguide projector—no onboard mics or cameras required.
The glasses cost $377 with a $20/month subscription, and offer customizable subtitle placement, potential real-time translation, and experimental tone-of-voice emotion detection, such as tagging speech with cues like [Awkwardness] or [Amused].
While rivals like XRAI and Even Realities offer flashier, multi-feature glasses, TranscribeGlass focuses on doing one thing exceptionally well—making spoken communication accessible in noisy or complex social settings.

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China's tech giants lobby for offshore yuan stablecoin, sources say

Reuters

JD.com and Ant Group are lobbying China’s central bank to authorize offshore yuan-pegged stablecoins in Hong Kong, aiming to counter the dominance of U.S. dollar-linked cryptocurrencies and bolster the yuan’s global role.
The push follows concerns that Chinese exporters increasingly use dollar stablecoins like Tether (USDT) for cross-border trade, as capital controls and currency risks deter yuan-based settlements.
Though crypto remains banned in China, officials are warming to stablecoins, with regulators receptive to a pilot yuan stablecoin in Hong Kong amid rising global competition in digital finance.

291 Hints That a Chatbot Wrote Part of a Biomedical Researcher's Paper

By Gina Kolata via The New York Times

A study in Science Advances led by Dmitry Kobak found linguistic fingerprints of chatbot-written biomedical abstracts, identifying 454 AI-favored words like “delve” and “crucial,” with at least 13.5% of abstracts showing signs of chatbot use—spiking to 40% in certain journals and countries.
Scientists are split on the ethics of A.I. writing: a Nature survey showed only 23% approved of unacknowledged A.I. use in abstracts, while 33% rejected it outright; others fear being suspected of A.I. use simply by using flagged words.
Incidents like a suspicious flood of letters to journals and an A.I.-generated letter that fooled a Stanford journal editor spotlight concerns about authorship integrity, with critics arguing that A.I. lacks accountability, trust, and moral weight.

Meta is reportedly training its AI chatbots to send unprompted messages

By Matt Tate via Engadget

Meta is testing a feature called Project Omni that enables AI chatbots built via its no-code AI Studio platform to send unprompted follow-up messages based on past interactions on platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp.
The proactive messaging aims to boost user engagement and retention, with examples like a movie-themed bot asking users about favorite soundtracks or offering recommendations in a friendly tone.
While still in testing, Meta says these bots will message only if a user has previously engaged, and won’t follow up again if ignored—keeping tone positive and aligned with prior conversations, and steering clear of sensitive topics unless user-initiated.

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